London’s Oxford Street Debuts Sustainability Awareness Campaign

Candice Brathwaite for Oxford Street's Beyond Now sustainability campaign. Courtesy of Doug Peters/PA Wire

BEYOND NOW: London’s Oxford Street has created its first sustainability awareness campaign to highlight urgent environmental issues, as well as the positive changes that some of its retailers are making.

Dubbed “Beyond Now,” the effort kicks off Sept. 15, and will highlight 30 high-street brands with a presence on Oxford Street including Nike, The Body Shop, Selfridges, Lush and John Lewis.

The idea is to educate shoppers on how brands are responding to the climate crisis and to encourage them to make small changes in their own consumption habits by supporting some of the sustainable products and companies highlighted in the campaign.

Fronting the campaign is author and presenter Candice Brathwaite, who has also curated a 50-piece Beyond Now capsule.

“I am a huge advocate for living responsibly whatever your shopping style or budget. Oxford Street is the beating heart of the high street and seeing what some of the brands are doing to enable us as shoppers to take a more responsible look at the way we buy and show us that actually you can do it even if it is small steps, is just brilliant. I know firsthand how hard it is to break habits and make more conscious choices, but we’re on a journey, small steps count and working together, we can live and shop more sustainably on the high street — and still look flawless,” Brathwaite said.

Retailers will also host in-store events all aimed at educating shoppers around sustainable consumption: New Balance will be offering free sneaker cleaning workshops; Selfridges is debuting a pop-up with secondhand clothing charity Oxfam and fashion editor Bay Garnet; while John Lewis is planning a two-day Sustainable Festival to highlight all the conscious products in its offer.

Luciana Magliocco, director at the Oxford Street Associate, added that this is a statement that “sustainability will be at the heart of everything (Oxford Street) does now and in the future.

“Together with our brands and partners, we will work toward a reimagined and more sustainable way of shopping. Our brands are currently trialling new business models, like offering repair services and rental, and this will pave the way for the future of fashion. There is no denying that collectively we have a way to go, and this is only year one of creating a better future together,” Magliocco added.